Readings - http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/072411.cfm
We find ourselves in the midst of Ordinary Time. And it being the summer / vacation time in much of the world, the Readings that we hear are relatively “easy”, parables mostly over the last three weeks, giving us something to reflect on each Sunday while we enjoy this lazy time of year.
This Sunday’s Gospel offers us two parables both about discernment and making a decision about what is most important to us in life. In the first parable we hear of someone who found a treasure in a field. He buried the treasure again and then put everything that he had into buying that field. In the second parable, we hear of a merchant who found a pearl of great value and that he too, then set out to sell everything that he had to buy that pearl of great price.
And so we’re asked to reflect on today, how we make decisions and what is the “pearl of great price” (or what it ought to be / become) in our own lives.
In reflecting on how we make decisions, we’re not left with a completely open slate. We’re given in the First Reading the example of Solomon, who shortly after becoming King has a vision. He is asked by God what he would want. Solomon was young. He could have asked for anything and he certainly could have been tempted to ask for all kinds of things that would not have been helpful to him. Instead, he asked for wisdom.
Now he could have been partly driven to requesting this, because he was, in fact, young. He wasn’t even really supposed to be king. There were older sons of David who probably should have gone before him. However, his mother, Bethsheba had played her part, and there he was King now, King at a young age, and probably somewhat scared.
But be all that as it may, we hear today that Solomon did choose well by asking for Wisdom. And God blessed him for it. Today something close to 3,000 years later (give or take a few hundred years) we still remember Solomon for being wise.
We too, when we are young (and perhaps earlier than we realize that we are doing so) are asked to make some fairly fundamental decisions – what kind of career direction do we wish to take, who do we marry? And yes, these decisions definitely effect the rest of our lives.
So how do we do them well?
Well, for “whoever has ears, hear...” ;-). An attitude like Solomon’s is probably pretty good: BE HUMBLE and ASK GOD FOR HELP. It’s a lot better to have God on your side in those decisions than to ignore him and take the consequences afterwards.
But what then if we screwed up? What if we chose badly early in life, or chose badly up until this very moment? And all of us who've reached a certain age have made our mistakes in life.
Well the GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST IS -- QUITE HONESTLY -- THAT THE MISTAKES DON'T ULTIMATELY MATTER. We CAN change. We CAN always come back. That doesn’t mean that our past decisions have no consequences. They do. Guess what, most of us _won’t_ grow up to be President. (Probably none of us were called to be that anyway ... But even if we were, it doesn’t matter. God’s Will will be done in one way or another). AND we were NEVER CALLED TO BE "IMPORTANT" ANYWAY. We weren’t called to be famous. We weren’t called to be Great. We are simply called to be Good. (and let's face it, that's hard enough as it is ;-)
And we find in Scripture that "a little Goodness" on our part _goes a tremendously long way_. David, Solomon’s father, did one True "profession of faith." AS A TEENAGER, no more than about 14-15 years of age, when he was bringing some food to his older brothers “at the front,” he saw the giant Goliath taunting the Israelite army and the whole army (including David’s older brothers) quivering in fear before him. David, not being able to stand this, proclaimed _as a 14-15 year old_ that if no one else will volunteer to take Goliath’s challenge that he would (basically “if God is with us, who can be against us.”) AND FOR THIS SINGLE (perhaps even spontaneous) DECISION, GOD LOVED DAVID FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE. HE FORGAVE DAVID EVERYTHING THAT HE DID IN LIFE AFTERWARDS (and he did fall/sin a lot ... note Bethsheba). But _none_ of David’s failings mattered to God. For _that one decision_, that ONE instant of faith when he was young, God forgave David _everything_ to the point that when Jesus came to this earth, one of the titles that he carried (mind you, GOD’s OWN SON) was “Son of David.” That is how much God loved David.
God also loved Solomon, to the point that we remember him even up to today as “wise.” In truth, though, after a lot of disappointments and long last, God _did_ tire of Solomon as well (as said of him in Scripture). Solomon did make repeated bad (unwise) decisions later in life (taking, many, many wives, being cruel, etc). And so after Solomon died, the Kingdom of Israel divided ...
However, the point is that God did _put up a lot_ with Solomon as well AND even though he didn't necessarily love Solomon in the end as much as he loved David, TO THIS DAY we remember Solomon for (again) making a _single good decision_ early in life. And we remember Solomon TO THIS DAY for "being wise" (even if later in life, he turned out to lose some of that luster and wisdom).
And lest we worry “Oh my, I made _a lot_ of _terrible_ decisions ‘early in life.’” well remember the Good Thief on the Cross. At the last moment in life, he made a _good decision_ and Jesus promised him “Even today, you will be in paradise.”
So it’s never, ever too late. But we do have to ask God to be with us, in the making of our decisions and then to help carry us through the hard times in life. Difficulty and struggle make-up a great part of all of our lives. Yet, how much easier it is, how much “lighter our burden is” if we have God at our side.
So let’s then make _that_ (God being at our side) _our_ “pearl of great price.” remembering that the rest ... won’t really matter anyway.
So let us ALL come to choose well. God bless you all.
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